Hero Unit

by JC Bybee

  Ace hadn’t thought of that. She hadn’t thought of much beyond the HSO case recently.

  “Everyone is worried that I’m going to start replacing people just because I have new friends, or a sister. It would be nice if people talked to me about such things before jumping to ridiculous conclusions.”

  Angela smiled.

  “So do you agree with their plan?” Ace asked.

  “You know I don’t,” Angela replied.

  “But we’re still going to do it,” Ace said.

  “They see it as the only option. The technomancers have agreed as well, though they weren’t happy about it either,” Angela said. She was frowning. It was a bad situation with no good options, but the plan might work.

  “Someone’s not making it out of this one,” Ace said at last. She vented the last of her anger in one last punch to the bag. The material buckled and collapsed. Time for a new one.

  “You can’t be certain of that, not even I’m certain of that,” Angela said.

  Ace shook her head. “I learned one thing serving as a soldier, when the enemy is the one calling the shots someone on our side always dies.”

  Back in Ace’s office she thought over the details of the plan, and of the whole situation. There were parts of both that bothered her. It was like she was only seeing part of the puzzle. The HSO wanted the Exceptionals to rule, maybe to even wipe out all the normals, which didn’t make any kind of sense because there was no guarantee that an Exceptional would be born from Exceptional parents.

  In any case that was supposedly their whole goal. Taking Einstein made sense within the parameters of that one goal. The knowledge and expertise that he had, combined with his powers made Einstein a powerful tool. That was why the HSO had kidnapped him.

  What didn’t make sense within that goal was what they had done to Exceptionals like Technosis and the nameless technomancer at the Tenth Avenue Bank. She had to wonder how far the HSO was willing to go to achieve their goal. Even when they rescued Einstein there were still other Exceptionals out there who they could experiment on.

  Finally she stood and left her office. Thinking was getting her nowhere. What she needed to do was act. It was about time the HSO really understood what it meant to pick a fight with her. She’d had enough of their plans, of doing things their way. She was going to make them respond to her. No more playing things safe. She was going to give the HSO exactly what they wanted; her.

  “Kill the power in the Marriot. I’m going in and I’ll get Einstein out,” she said as she walked into Angel’s office. Bones was manning the captain’s desk. Angel had been taken to Genesis West by Moses. Bones had stayed on to help organize the offensive against the Marriott.

  “We decided that might provoke them-” her uncle began but Ace cut him off, “I am tired of playing their games. If they want to take one of ours they are going to find out that I do not fear them. It is about damn time they realize what it means to piss off a Fifth.”

  Bones gave her a hard look. “I could order you detained.”

  Ace raised an eyebrow. “With all due respect, sir, I dare you to find someone stupid enough to try that.”

  “What about your sister?” Bones countered.

  “She’s the only one that could, but she agrees with me. She’ll be there as my backup. This has to stop and I’m going to stop it. I won’t lose any more good people to the HSO’s plans when there’s something I can do to prevent it. Our enemies, all of our enemies, are going to learn that at least in this town they had better walk small or they’re going to have a whole lot of me and my sister to deal with. Now you do what you’ve got to do, sir, but I’m taking at least Maniac with me and we are going to end this right now,” Ace said. Her voice was flat. There was no anger, just determination. She was going to end this, no matter what it took.

  Bones leaned back in his borrowed chair. He gave her a long look and then said, “Do it.”

  Ace nodded and left the office. She dialed Maniac on her device. “What’s up?” Maniac asked as her face appeared on the screen. There was definite relief written on her features.

  “Get the rest of the squad and your technomancer buddies and meet me at the carrier. We’re going in after Einstein my way,” Ace replied.

  Maniac grinned. “You got it partner.”

  They hung up and Ace was about to call Emily when her caller ID popped up on Ace’s device. “Read my mind?”

  Emily laughed. “Not me. Angela said to give you a call. We’re still working on getting her an E.E.D registered device. She told me the basics of your plan. Are you sure about this?”

  “You know I am,” Ace replied. She was at her desk picking up her new service piece and dropping off her body armor. She really truly didn’t need it. Even if the HSO did somehow find her weakness body armor was unlikely to help her.

  “I just needed to hear it directly from you. Despite how connected you and your sister are there can still be differences of opinion between you, and yes even different levels of conviction,” Emily said. “We’ll meet you at the carrier.”

  “See you there,” Ace said and they hung up.

  “So you’re finally going to act?” It was Torment that spoke.

  “You’ve been expecting this?” Ace asked as she straightened from her desk and looked up at her commanding officer.

  Torment was armed, armored and there was a look of almost excitement in her eyes. “Something like that. I’ve just a touch of prophecy and every time it comes it’s because of you. From you joining the E.E.D, to coming to New Davenport, all the way down to you being on my team. Every time I saw you right before you showed up. Minimal amounts of prophecy can be maddening for people like me, but with you around it has been less of an annoyance. Has Bones signed off on this?”

  “I didn’t give him much of a choice,” Ace replied. She kind of felt bad about that. It was not the first time she’d used the intimidation that came with being a Fifth to get what she wanted, but it was the first time she’d used it on a friend or family. Torment winced a little at that.

  “So what’s the plan?” Torment asked.

  “Simple. The technomancers will kill the power, but just for the Marriott. Anyone that comes out gets scanned by you and Emily. Angela will spend her time guiding me to where they’ve got Einstein. Anyone who gets in my way is collateral damage,” Ace explained. She made her way to the elevators and Torment followed her.

  “I just figured out your pseudonym,” Ace said as the elevator doors closed. “Your limited prophecy torments you.”

  Torment smiled. “You’re the first to put two and two together. Course not many people know about the prophecy part of my powers. How about you, why Ace?”

  Ace shrugged. “That’s what my parents called me. I have a given name, but they just always called me Ace. Never could get a straight answer from them about why either. I don’t think they really know where it actually came from.”

  Torment laughed. “That’s just so damned cute!” She looked at Ace out of the corner of her eye. “I suppose that fits you though. You look nothing like a Fortress Class, but I’ve seen you take Fourths apart like they were children. So I suppose the origin of your pseudonym should be something unexpected.”

  They tried to figure out the origin of other Heroes’ names as they rode the elevator to the parking level; anything to preserve that little moment of levity. They arrived to find the others waiting for them. Ace knew that her sister had already told the others the plan so all she said was, “Any objections or suggestions?”

  “We know where and how to hit the hotel, so we’re ready whenever you are,” Maniac replied.

  “Alright, let’s do this,” Ace stated and they loaded up.

  Chapter 24

  The New Davenport Marriott was big. One of the largest hotels in the city. It was located not far from Memorial Park. It also housed an even larger convention center making the total structure cover a large part of a city block. Ace was just glad that there were no convent
ions being held at that moment. She couldn’t imagine trying to contain the chaos once they hit the power if there were hundreds of more people present.

  They dropped Maniac, Glitch and Pong off at the different sub-stations around the Marriott block. Between the three of them they would be able to cut power to just the hotel and convention center.

  Ace parked their transport in a public lot and she and the rest of her team made their way to the hotel. The others were wearing standard issue E.E.D equipment. That meant people got the hell out of their way as they moved down the sidewalk.

  As they arrived at the front doors of the hotel Maniac and the other technomancers radioed that they were ready. Ace looked at Angela, who nodded. “Do it,” Ace radioed.

  Not even a minute later every light that Ace could see in the building went out. There was immediate panic among those going in and out. The hotel staff didn’t manage much better. With rumors stilling circulating about the HSO people were bound to panic at the smallest things.

  “You know what to do, sis, tell me where to go,” Ace said and started wading through the flood of people now flowing out the hotel doors.

  The light from the mid-afternoon sun only reached so far into the lobby. It was a good thing Ace was an Exceptional or the press of evacuating people would have carried her out like a leaf trapped by a current. Instead people rebounded off of her and kept going. She was surprised the response was so immediate until she heard the fire alarms going off. Smart move, she thought. The technomancers were doing their jobs, now Ace just had to do hers.

  He’s somewhere in the middle of the building, Angela said as Ace made her way towards the stairs.

  Be careful in the stairwells. There are some nasty surprises waiting for any Exceptional that comes near them, her sister warned her. Ace acknowledged that she’d heard, but she pushed on.

  The stairs were clear until the fourth floor. At the fourth floor landing Angela said, Careful, there’s a surprise up the next flight of stairs.

  Ace considered her options. It was doubtful that whatever it was could hurt her, but at the same time she wanted to keep property damage to a minimum. Instead of risking it she exited the stairwell. With no windows the halls of the motel were pitch black. Even Ace’s enhanced vision only gave her a dim, black and white view of her surroundings.

  You need to go up five or six more floors.

  Ace headed to a different set of stairs. The door was rigged, which she discovered as she opened it. Electricity arched across the metal frame and through her. Her radio was fried, but she kept going. As long as she still had contact with Angela she was fine.

  I’ll keep everyone updated on our progress, her sister assured her as she continued moving upwards.

  She hit two more anti-Exceptional traps on her way up, but they weren’t any more dangerous to her than the first. It was when she reached the landing for the tenth floor that Angela said, You’re on the right floor, now you just have to get to him. There aren’t any other Exceptionals but him on the floor, so you’ll have to be extra careful.

  Ace paused as she was about to go through the door. No other Exceptionals. That didn’t make any sense. She didn’t doubt her sister, but what was going on? How could the HSO not be using Exceptionals? That was their whole identity, Homo Superior, they were better than normals. We are missing something important, I just don’t know what it is, she said to her sister as she entered the floor and started making her way through the darkness.

  It was slow going. She had to move carefully to avoid attracting attention. Like most fancy hotels the halls of the Marriot were cluttered with useless decorations.

  Even as careful as she was being and even with her sister’s help she still got shot at a few times. Each time she intercepted and cuffed the gunman. She was just glad they were professionals. They fired off controlled bursts instead of opting for the “spray and pray” method. Each time she spotted muzzle flare she was able to zero in on her target.

  She did eventually find the room that her sister marked as the place Einstein was being held. She waited for Angela’s okay before carefully trying the door handle. The door was actually slightly ajar and she nearly closed it in her caution. With as much care as she could manage she opened the door and stepped into the room. “Einstein?” she whispered.

  “Don’t move Ace it’s a-” She didn’t hear what he said because she stepped down and there was a click, a flash and everything went black.

  Chapter 25

  Ace could feel rocks under her skin. That wasn’t good. She checked and sure enough found that she wasn’t wearing a single piece of clothing and she most certainly was not in the New Davenport Marriott. There was slightly more light here than there had been at the hotel. Ace could make out the vague shape of a small stone room that looked just a little too regular to have been a natural formation.

  “Hello?” her voice sounded muted.

  “Welcome, Ace. We’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time,” the voice came through a small speaker mounted high up on the wall where Ace could just barely make it out. It looked like something salvaged from an abandoned elementary school.

  “Cut the crap, where am I?” Ace replied.

  Thank heaven you’re awake. Angela’s voice was muted. That had never happened before.

  I don’t know where you are. I can’t find you which means they’ve taken you outside the range of my powers. Emily and I are in suppressors. I can’t talk anymore, good luck.

  That was a surprise. Angela’s range covered the entire city of New Davenport and its suburbs. Where was she?

  “You are in our testing facility,” the voice replied. It was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman over the speaker. The sound quality was terrible. “You see, we of the HSO have been looking for a chance to study your unique abilities for so very long.”

  “Screw you,” Ace said.

  “Now, now we let all of your friends leave peacefully. If you are cooperative they will remain unharmed. If your hostilities continue we will start killing them.”

  Ace hesitated. Angela would be fine, like Ace she was indestructible, but the others weren’t and the HSO had already proved they were willing to kill Exceptionals who they deemed a threat. “What’s the plan then?” she asked.

  “See if you can escape. It’s that simple. There are no-” the voice cut off as Ace broke through one of the nearby walls. She found herself in a long, well lit corridor. It ran as far as she could see in either direction. She turned and ran to her left. After a short distance she leapt up and through the ceiling. Whatever it was made out of was considerably harder than anything Ace had ever encountered before.

  Natural laws flexed more than normal as she tore through whatever the strange material was. She guessed she’d gone about ten feet before finally breaking in to open air. She took in her surroundings and nearly went back down the hole she’d just created. The room was full of people and she was still very naked.

  Everyone around her froze. They were all dressed in black t-shirts and black cargo pants. Most of them were carrying guns on their hips. There was no one distinct nationality and it seemed as if every last one of them was looking right at her. Judging by the long tables and trays full of food Ace figured she’d ended up in the facility’s cafeteria.

  She took all of this in, along with her extreme embarrassment, before an alarm sounded. “Warning, the prisoner has escaped. All personnel are to respond with lethal force.” This time the voice was crystal clear and female. Apparently this place warranted a better sound system than the dungeon she’d just escaped.

  Not wanting to find out what kind of lethal force the people around her were equipped with, beyond standard firearms, Ace ran towards the nearest exit to the cafeteria. A few shots rang out, but she ignored them and hit the exit at a very slow controlled run. Once through the doors she turned and pounded the hinges until the metal was fused. Not wanting to be caught standing still, Ace went down the hallway she found herself in.


  The feeling she got from the place was that it was a training facility. She pulled on her one mental power and was surprised to find that there wasn’t a single Exceptional in her range. She was truly starting to wonder if the HSO was really what they claimed to be. If they thought Exceptionals were superior, where were all their Exceptionals?

  As she moved along the hall she checked doors. What she found was relatively little. Most were just bedrooms. Each one had space to accommodate two people. There were computers in each of the rooms, but she didn’t bother with them. Instead she looked for clothes.

  She did eventually find some clothes that fit her well enough. Feeling a little more confident now that she wasn’t running around in her birthday suit Ace kept looking for some direction. She wanted very much to find who was in charge of this facility, but the place seemed huge and if they were all normals she had to be exceedingly careful. The last thing she wanted was a trail of bodies to haunt her.

  “Attention all personnel, be on the lookout for subject Ace, the Fifth Generation. She has been sighted in residential block D4. All personnel form assault teams. Upgrade to heavy armaments and engage. Lethal force is to be applied.” Again the voice was loud and clear.

  She didn’t like the sound of heavy armaments. These were potentially the same people that came up with the hybrid. Who knew what kind of equipment they’d have in a facility like this? She decided she didn’t want to find out and kept moving.

  Eventually Ace found a door that led outside. Instead of just bursting through she took time to look through the small window. As she suspected there were heavily armed guards pointing their guns at the door, just waiting to open fire. There were other buildings visible and behind them shrub covered hills. It reminded her of parts of eastern Oregon. Wherever it was she was a long ways away from New Davenport.